“The Eye respects you. Wants to be you. Our organization has called out to you for generations. Sought your wisdom and guidance to usher in our future.”
“By raping the innocent and chanting in Latin?” I’m not sure what compels me, but my hand shoots up from my side and rips the mask off his face.
I don’t recognize the face behind it.
But whoever started this cult of fanatics and lunatics is long dead now.
“Nothing to say?” I’ve given him enough time to think of an answer.
He simply shakes his head.
“Then we’re done here,” I say.
“I can go?”
No. His answer was unsatisfactory.
Tonight, the Eye and its legacy will join him in eternal slumber.
I jam the suppressor against his chest and fire two rounds. I briefly considered pushing him over the edgerather than shooting him. I could watch him fall and disappear into the inky black waters below and I would bask in the pure cinematic triumph of everything tonight has brought me.
But doing that comes with the risk of his surviving. It’s a low chance, I’m sure, but enough for me to worry he may come back and cause trouble for me somewhere down the road.
The best part is that I still get to watch him fall. The bullets shred through his chest and knock him back just enough that his feet topple over the edge. If the shots don’t kill him, which would take divine intervention of biblical proportions with both aimed at his heart, the fall will finish the job.
After his body disappears into the thrashing waters below, a strange emptiness tightens my chest. It’s not disappointment, but somewhat akin to it. I am sad that this sorry affair is my first assignment as the Ghost. Sure, they’re college kids and not hardened criminals, but I expected more. Some fight, at least. Perhaps that is harder to do when you’re squaring up against a man with swords and guns, who knows how to use them, but they also had nothing to lose. They had to know their time had come after they saw Tom Henderson die…
Pathetic.
I head back to the altar and stop next to the girl. She looks peaceful.Worryinglypeaceful. I reach for her neckto check for a pulse. I remove the rope from her wrists and ankles and hoist her into my arms, starting out in the direction from which I came. She doesn’t wake or stir on our journey. Whatever Tom gave her must’ve packed a mighty punch.
With the quiet come thoughts I’d rather not be having. Mainly, of the conversation I had with my predecessor.
I believe the Head has a way to rectify the problems this will bring. He wouldn’t have sanctioned this betrayal if he hadn’t. However, come tomorrow, the world will discover what transpired here tonight. If not because of the four bodies rotting on the overlook, then from her mouth directly.
Keeping her alive is a terrible mistake.
But as I gaze at her quiet, tranquil stillness, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m glad we did.
Chapter Six
Lilith
Three Years Later
“Ihad another dream last night.”
I hate how weak I sound. It’s been so long, but I’m still haunted daily by ghosts of the past.
“The same one as before. Flashes of what happened, mixed with my imagination running wild.”
I feel sick just thinking about it.
“It usually starts the same. Panicked breathing and wrestling with the ropes. I’m lightheaded and dizzy from whatever drug Tom gave me screwing withmy head. I feel Tom’s body weighing me down; his hands are feeling me up like I’m some damned trophy. Faceless men surround us on all sides, chanting garbled sounds.” I continue. “Thenhearrives.”
Dr. Vivienne Rice sits opposite me, her legs crossed at the ankle, jotting notes as I speak. There’s no rush, no judgment, just watching and listening.
“Go on?” she encourages me.
